Type Book
Date 1989
Tags picture book, children's book, vacation, fiction

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation

The Berenstain Bears

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation is a fun little story about how the Berenstain Bears' worst vacation ever was still a lot of fun--at least, after it was over!

This is, I have decided, the best of the modern books (of those I've read). I say modern, but of course this was published in 1989--22 years ago as of this writing. This one tells a fun story, with plenty of amusing events, and a double lesson: that, sometimes, home is the place you most want to be; and that there is always some good to be found in even an unpleasant situation. These lessons flow naturally from the story in a way that is quite foreign to the more didactic books in the series, and the story is much better for it.

The art is nice in this one, and it depicts some pretty amusing events--amusing enough they're worth seeing again in the photo gallery at the end. This kind of funny art is what made the earliest books so much fun, and this book certainly recaptures some of that.

I enjoyed this book far more than most of the recent Berenstain Bears books. Sadly, this one doesn't seem to be available for the Kindle. I can't imagine why they'd skip over a fun book like this and include a menace like The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners, but I guess that's why I don't make the big bucks. Do pick up a paper copy of this one if you feel the urge--it's worth it.

Name Role
Jan Berenstain
Stan Berenstain